The ranking holds 176 schools in Brazil with an international accreditation or an authorised programme. IB programmes at 96 of them. Cambridge, IGCSE and A-Level, at 19. A preschool section at 142. A year of school costs from $6 902 to $45 205.
3 schools publish a monthly fee rather than a yearly one and do not say how many payments they charge over a school year. We count such a year as ten payments: that is the number charged by the schools that do state it, and that is how long the school year runs in most countries of the ranking.
The median fee for a year of school in Brazil is $18 195. That is 16th for affordability out of 19 countries in the ranking. A comparison only means anything at a single exchange rate, so every figure is converted to dollars from one weekly snapshot.
| Country | Median a year | Schools | With an IB programme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | $4 622 | 8 | 63% |
| Tajikistan | $4 996 | 13 | 0% |
| Kyrgyzstan | $6 324 | 26 | 8% |
| Uzbekistan | $6 525 | 47 | 19% |
| Georgia | $7 897 | 29 | 17% |
| Chile | $7 995 | 57 | 65% |
| Azerbaijan | $8 824 | 28 | 36% |
| Kazakhstan | $10 026 | 89 | 26% |
| Armenia | $10 295 | 15 | 33% |
| Argentina | $11 012 | 155 | 36% |
| Cyprus | $11 501 | 38 | 29% |
| Uruguay | $11 638 | 28 | 39% |
| Montenegro | $13 313 | 9 | 33% |
| Thailand | $15 618 | 189 | 22% |
| Serbia | $15 799 | 21 | 29% |
| Brazil | $18 195 | 176 | 55% |
| Vietnam | $18 889 | 137 | 18% |
| Turkey | $21 233 | 216 | 46% |
| Israel | $29 188 | 15 | 40% |
The median is steadier than the average: one school charging three times the rest does not shift it. It is taken from the top of a school's fee range, that is from the senior stage, which is what families budget for. Free state schools are left out of the median, or it would stop answering the question of what you pay.
| Cheapest | $6 902 a year | Coree International School |
| Median | $18 195 a year | top of the fee range at 17 schools with a published fee |
| Most expensive | $45 205 a year | Avenues: The World School - São Paulo |
Figures are converted to dollars at a weekly rate; schools publish their fees in their own currency. One-off charges, meals, transport and uniform are not included unless the school says otherwise. Fees for schools in Brazil are taken from published price lists, not from what third parties say.
10 % of schools in Brazil name a fee on their own site (17 of 176). Across the whole ranking of 1296 schools it is 35 %. We read every school's site and worked out what schools write instead of a sum, and why openness follows the country and the network rather than the school: the study of school fees →
All 176 schools in the ranking are private. We have not yet found a state school in Brazil with an international accreditation. The type of school does not affect the score: private and state schools sit in one list and are scored by the same formula, and only verifiable data moves the number.
Schools in Brazil with an IB programme (96): Escola Internacional de Alphaville, Coree International School, Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro - Gávea, Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro - Barra, School of the Nations, Escola Americana de Campinas, Colégio Progresso Bilíngue - Cambuí, Instituto GayLussac, Pan American School of Bahia, Beacon School, Graded - The American School of São Paulo, St Nicholas School - Pinheiros, Centro Internacional de Educação Integrada (CIEI), The British School of Brasilia, Colégio São Luís, Colégio Benjamin Constant, The British College of Brazil, American School of Brasilia (EAB), The British School, Rio de Janeiro - Barra, Colégio BONJA, The British School, Rio de Janeiro - Botafogo, Villa Global Education, Villa Global Education, Campus Litoral Norte, St Paul's School, Positivo International School, Pan American - The International School of Porto Alegre, International School of Curitiba, Colégio Visconde de Porto Seguro, St Nicholas School Alphaville, Bright Bee, Valley International School, St. Francis College, Dual International School - Blumenau, Colégio São Paulo, Dual International School - Florianópolis, Land School, Escola Suíço-Brasileira Rio de Janeiro by SIS, Colégio Anchieta - Pituba, Escola Eleva - Barra da Tijuca, Escola Beit Yaacov, Escola Viva, Great International School, Colegio Miguel de Cervantes, Colégio Universitário, Escola Bilíngue Pueri Domus - Verbo Divino, Escola Cidade Jardim - PlayPen, Escola Eleva - São Paulo, SIS Swiss International School Brasília, Escola Eleva - Urca, Gurilândia International School, Escola Nova by SIS Swiss International School, Colégio Progresso Bilíngue Indaiatuba, Red House International School - Jundiaí, CLQ - Colégio Luiz de Queiroz, Instituto Educacional Soka do Brasil, Sphere International School, Escola Dinâmica Bilingual School - Unidade Ambiental, Escola Dinâmica Bilingual School - Unidade Leste, Canadian School of Niterói, Escola Cristã Genebra, Colégio Evangélico Alberto Torres, Escola Eleva - Recife, Colégio Suíço-Brasileiro de Curitiba, Avalon Evolutive School, Escola Canadense de Brasília, Liceu Albert Sabin, St. John's International School, Colégio 7 de Setembro, Red House International School - Villa-Lobos, Red House International School - Perdizes, Centro de Ensino Médio Pastor Dohms - Higienópolis, Escola Eleva - Brasília, Escola Castanheiras, Escola Lourenço Castanho, The American School of Belo Horizonte, Red House International School - Higienópolis, Liceu Albert Sabin (Fundamental), Chapel School, Red House International School - Museu do Ipiranga II, Escola Bilíngue Pueri Domus - Itaim, Escola Bilíngue Pueri Domus - Perdizes II, Escola Pueri Domus - Unidade IV (Aclimação), Dom Bosco, Escola Lourenço Castanho - Alto da Boa Vista, Maple Bear Barra da Tijuca, Red House International School - Curitiba, Red House International School - Santana, Primeiro Mundo - Praia da Costa, Centro Educacional Primeiro Mundo, Vitória, Escola Dinâmica Bilingual School - Unidade Centro, Escola Dinâmica Bilingual School - Unidade Jurerê, Escola Dinâmica Bilingual School - Unidade Primavera, Global Me School, Escola Crescimento, ABA Maple Bear Recife, GIS - The International School of São Paulo. 15 of them run the full three-stage cycle: PYP, MYP and DP. Authorisation is confirmed against the International Baccalaureate register.
The British Cambridge programme - IGCSE and A-Level - is taught at 19 schools in Brazil: Aubrick Multicultural Bilingual School, Brazilian International School, Instituto GayLussac, St Nicholas School - Pinheiros, The British School of Brasilia, The British College of Brazil, The British School, Rio de Janeiro - Barra, St Paul's School, St. Francis College, Colégio São Paulo, Colégio Anchieta - Pituba, Escola São Domingos, Colégio Farroupilha, Colegio Stocco, Escola Girassol, Instituicao Evangelica de Novo Hamburgo (IENH), Colégio Friburgo, Anchietinha Aquarius, Anchieta Patamares.
A facility counts only when the school names it outright on its own site: a modern campus is not a swimming pool. Swimming pool: 28 schools · School transport: 16 schools.
Comparing schools on a single feature is useless: the most expensive is not the best, and a famous name says nothing about what is backed by documents. The score is therefore built from nine criteria with different weights - from academic programmes and accreditation to facilities, clubs and fees relative to other schools in the country.
A criterion counts towards the score only when there is verifiable data behind it. That is why every score says how many of the nine criteria were counted: at schools in Brazil that is 6.7 out of 9 on average. A school with a detailed site and a school with no site cannot earn an equally reliable score, and that is shown rather than hidden.
Ratings and reviews from Google Maps, Yandex Maps and 2GIS are not used: their terms forbid aggregation. Only verified reviews left here count. Full methodology →
The ranking holds 176 schools with an international accreditation or an authorised programme: São Paulo - 47, Rio de Janeiro - 15, Salvador - 11, Brasília - 9, Curitiba - 9, Florianopolis - 7, Campinas - 5, Ribeirão Preto - 5, Niterói - 4, Goiânia - 4, Recife - 3, Joinville - 3, Porto Alegre - 3, Vitória - 3, Santu Andre - 3, Santana de Parnaiba - 2, Sao Luis - 2, Teresina - 2, Belo Horizonte - 2, Itajaí - 2, Vinhedo - 2, San Kaetanu du Sul - 2, Sorokaba - 2, Barueri - 1, Blumenau - 1, Camacari - 1, Cotia - 1, Fortaleza - 1, Indaiatuba - 1, Joao Pessoa - 1, Lajeado - 1, Londrina - 1, Pinhais - 1, Piracicaba - 1, São José dos Campos - 1, Valinhos - 1, Vila Velha - 1, Ananindeua - 1, Jundiai - 1, Guarapuava - 1, Bragansa Paulista - 1, Kolombu - 1, Kampu Largu - 1, Itu - 1, Santus - 1, Fos du Iguasu - 1, Maringá - 1, Limeyra - 1, Novu Amburgu - 1, Palmas - 1, Kuyaba - 1, Manaus - 1. Every school says where its accreditation came from: found in a public register, confirmed by a document from the school, or claimed by the school with nothing behind it. We do not hide a claim, but it does not go into the score.
The median fee in Brazil is $18 195 a year. That is 16th for affordability out of 19 countries in the ranking. Cheaper: Paraguay, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Chile, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Argentina, Cyprus, Uruguay, Montenegro, Thailand, Serbia. The comparison only holds inside one year: all fees are converted into dollars at one weekly rate.
Our list holds none in Brazil: all 176 schools with an international accreditation charge a fee. If a state school with an authorised programme appears, it will enter the ranking on equal terms with private ones.
We look the school up in the public register of the organisation itself. There are ten such registers today: International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International, CIS, NEASC, COBIS, AEFE, MSA (Middle States Association), Cognia, Pearson Edexcel and the network of German schools abroad. The list grows with the geography of the ranking: a new country usually has an organisation of its own. An accreditation found in a register is marked green and goes into the score. One confirmed only by a document from the school is yellow, and weighs less. One claimed in words is red, and the school's accreditation score is then the lowest. Membership of a network or an association is counted apart: a school joins a network, but earns an accreditation, so membership weighs one step lower. That is why a school calling itself international and a school standing in the ranking are two different things.